Draft Business Plan 2006 – 2010

Introduction

The St Francis Bay Beach Trust was formed early in 2006 in order to ensure that the beach erosion was reversed and that the beach was restored to its original condition. 

This initiative followed a number of previous “Save the Beach” initiatives which had not produced any real results.  The St Francis Beach Trust became convinced that the only way to restore the beach was to involve the St Francis community in taking the necessary remedial action. 

Previous efforts in putting together a plan to restore the beach had resulted in budgets being tabled that were unrealistic in terms of affordability.  In addition these approaches proposed the use of environmentally unacceptable approaches using groynes with the local community favouring a lower impact environmental solution.    

Vision

The Beach Trust believe that the beach restoration is part of a total systems approach to the environmental issues in St Francis including the Kromme River Estuary, the beach and frontal dune system as well as the artificial submerged reefs.

In addition, the Beach Trust are of the view that as an advantaged community living in a relatively disadvantaged area, St Francis Bay residents need to pay for the required remediation.   We also believe that the community needs to ensure that the envisioned project must achieve a number of key objectives.  These are:

• Achieve sustainable development within the Greater St Francis area

• Ensure that the local economy grows at a rate greater than inflation.

• Ensure that job creation is an integral part of the project.

In order to achieve the above it is necessary to focus on the type of initiatives that are likely to bring growth to the area.  These fall into the two major areas of  eco-tourism and construction. 

St Francis Bay is well situated to provide eco-tourism opportunities.  In addition to this, surfing is one of the fastest growing sports globally and with the type of environment available in Greater St Francis and Kouga as a whole there is little doubt that this effort can be successful in achieving the required results.

The SFB Beach Trust Project

The SFB Beach Project was started in December, 2005 with a fund raising campaign to collect the required R 1.0 million to cover the initial investigation and design.  This effort was particularly successful over the Christmas holidays of 2005/6 when a sum in excess of over R 250k was collected or pledged to the initiative.  

As a result of the campaign it was decided that the SFB Beach trust would be set up to manage the funds and the process.  The Trust was registered in May, 2006.

Phase 1 - The Investigative Process

At the same time a number of steps were put into place including the selection of ASR Limited from New Zealand who are the global experts in this field, being invited to visit St Francis.  This initial visit took place in February, 2006 with Dr Shaw Mead visiting St Francis Bay.  Following the visit it was agreed that the Beach Trust would appoint ASR Limited to carry out a full investigation into the possibility of submerged artificial reefs being the solution to the beach erosion issue.

The initial investigation required that detailed data needed to be collected and Dylan Anderson an MSc student was approached by the SFB Beach Trust to undertake this work.  This included the following aspects:

• A full bathymetric survey of both the Bay and Kromme Estuary
• Sand sampling in St Francis Bay and the Kromme Estuary
• The collection of inshore wave and current data
• Beach profiling
• Current and pressure information in the Estuary

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All of the above were completed over the period December, 2005 to July, 2006 with the data being supplied to ASR Limited as it was collected. 

In April, 2006 representatives of the SFB Beach Trust met with the National Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism in Tswane and received his full support for this approach.  Minister van Schalkwyk also undertook to visit St Francis Bay in order to facilitate the next stage of the process with both the Provincial and Municipal authorities.

In May, 2006 Shaw Mead visited St Francis and gave a presentation at a Public Meeting on the initial findings of the ASR investigation. These findings confirmed that the artificial reef approach was both feasible and affordable and was confirmed in the ASR Final Report which was made available to the Beach Trust in July, 2006.

Phase 2 - Design

Following receipt of the ASR Feasibility Study the Beach Trust requested ASR Limited to proceed with the design phase which will be completed in December, 2006.  In order to assist in this part of the exercise Dylan Anderson was sent to New Zealand by the Beach Trust in order to assist in this part of the process and to become familiar with the unique marine technology developed by ASR. 

On 7 August, 2006 representatives of the Beach Trust met with the Mayor and Acting Municipal Manager of Kouga Municipality in order to discuss the project in more detail.  The Mayor was presented with a copy of the ASR Report as well an electronic copy on CD.  At this meeting, the Beach Trust requested that they be given the opportunity to make a presentation to the full Council at the meeting scheduled for the first week in September.  It is essential that the Council  understand the full  implications of this project in terms of job retention/creation.   

The Beach Trust have also recently appointed SRK Consultants to complete the  incomplete Environmental Impact Assessment Report originally commissioned by the Kouga Municipality in 2003.   It is planned that this should also be completed by late 2006 (or at the latest early 2007).  A Record of Decision will then be requested from the Department of Environmental Affairs in the Eastern Cape. 

In the meanwhile the SFB Beach Trust are also having ongoing discussions with financial institutions including the Development Bank of Southern Africa in order to look at the funding of this project. 

Initial costings indicate funding requirements to the order of between R 20 to R 22 million. These figures are attached at Annexure A and include the split between the Dredging and Sand Pumping Operation and the Reef Construction as well as the phasing over the construction period through to 2010.  There is also an additional amount of around R 7.0 million which may not be required. However, this will only be confirmed following the final design being completed in December, 2006. 

Phase 3 - Operational Structure

In order to manage the project efficiently the SFB Beach Trust envisage three legs to the project.  These are:

• A formal agreement between the Kouga Municipality and SFB Beach Trust
• A formal agreement with the financial institution funding the project.
• The establishment of the operating companies to manage the project

Co-operative Agreement Kouga Municipality and SFB Beach Trust

The SFB Beach Trust intends raising the required funds by means of a “Special Development Levy” from all the residents of St Francis, excluding Sea Vista and Cape St Francis.  This levy will form part of the Municipal Budget and will be collected by the Kouga Municipality. These funds will be ring fenced specifically for the Beach Project and will be paid over monthly to the SFB Beach Trust.

The SFB Beach Trust will require a legally binding agreement with the Kouga Municipality to manage and run the project on behalf of the Council.  The Beach Trust will manage the financial and operational aspects of the operations and will account for its activities on a quarterly basis.  Details of a Draft Budget are attached as Annexure B.

In order to ensure transparency and efficiency, representatives of both the Kouga Municipality and funding institution will be co-opted to the Beach Trust Steering Committee responsible for the Beach Project in terms of oversight.

Dredging and Sand Pumping Operations

The SFB Beach Trust have formed “St Francis Bay Dredging and Sand Pumping (Pty) Limited” which will be responsible for dredging in the Kromme Estuary and moving the sand on to the beach to the various points.  This will include renourishment along the full length of the beach as well as the filling the submerged reef bags on the sea floor. 

We believe that there are real empowerment opportunities available in this area  over  time.  However, this operation will have a capital base of between R 6.0 to R 7.0 million and will require partners who have not only the capital but also the required technical skills for this type of operation.

Submerged Reef Construction

A further company “African Surf Reefs (Pty) Limited” has also been registered which will be charged with the construction of the submerged reefs.  This company will be working in partnership with ASR Limited and will be using the ASR technology under licence.  It will have a strong marine technology base. 

Over time it is intended that this operation will look at construction opportunities for submerged reef structures in other parts of Africa.  This will be done in partnership with ASR Limited of New Zealand who have developed this technology.  In addition, there will be technology transfer as part of this project which will benefit South Africa.  We will also consider looking at further educational opportunities for young South Africans in this exciting new field. 

Conclusions

In order to ensure that both operations provide sustainable development opportunities in St Francis it is intended that over time a percentage of profits generated will be repaid by these companies to the SFB Beach Trust.  These funds will be reinvested by the SFB Beach Trust in the Greater St Francis community for other identified sustainable development projects.

The Circles of Development: The St Francis Bay Beach Trust is committed to ensuring that the SFB Beach Project operates as a viable sustainable development initiative.  This means that the integrated project on the Estuary, the Beach and the Reefs needs to preserve and enhance the unique environmental aspects present in St Francis.  At  the same time it must ensure sustainable economic development for the wider St Francis community.  The  diagram above illustrates how this is possible.

We believe that the SFB Beach Trust initiative is both feasible and sustainable over the long term and will add significantly to the provision of real empowerment opportunities within the Greater St Francis area as well as reinstating the beach.  

This is a unique opportunity for an advantaged community, such as the one in St Francis, to show that an innovative approach of this nature can work for the wider community as a whole.  This project can lead the way in being the first  of its type in South Africa and will clearly position both St Francis Bay and the Kouga region as leaders in this unique approach to sustainable development.

Alan Tonkin

St Francis Bay

31 August, 2006

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Annexure A

Project Timing

We believe that realistically the construction phase of the Beach Project will need to run over a full 4 year period from 2006/7 to 2009/10 as follows:

Investigative Phase: 2006/7

This will include the finalisation of the EIA process as well as the finalising of the  legal agreement with the Kouga Municipality. Budget for this part of the project is estimated at R 1.0 million which will be raised by private donations to the St Francis Bay Beach Trust.

Construction Year 1: 2007/8

The first year of construction will include the purchase of the dredger and the construction and commissioning of the sand pumping facility. In addition it will include Reef # 1 which will be located between Anne Avenue and the Main Beach.

Alan Tonkin

St Francis Bay

31 August, 2006